Loading table for use with continuous production of wieners

ABSTRACT

In an apparatus for continuous production of wieners, a loading table supports tubs for delivering strands of uncooked wieners to the intake of the processor. The table has a top with a series of bays or sections each for supporting tubs containing strands of wieners, one of the tubs of each bay being supported on a trap door portion of the top and serving to supply the processor. The stands in the tubs are joined so that when the tub on the trap door portion of each bay has emptied, the delivery to the processor proceeds from the adjacent tub. However, the trap door portion in each bay can be operated to lower the empty tub thereon to a slide below the table that returns the empty tub to the front of the table for reuse. When the trap door is returned, it provides a support for receiving the aforesaid adjacent tub.

United States Patent [151 3,674,163 Neubeck, Jr. July 4, 1972 541 LOADING TABLE FOR USE WITH 3,511,665 5/1970 Simjian ..99/352 CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION OF WIENERS App]. No.: 69,897

Related US. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 845,734, July 29, 1969, Pat. No. 3,606,956.

US. Cl ..2l4/309 Int. Cl ..B65b 69/00 Field of Search ..99/352; 214/300, 309

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Simjian ..99/352 Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner-John Mannix Attorney-Specter & Alster [57] ABSTRACT In an apparatus for continuous production of wieners, a loading table supports tubs for delivering strands of uncooked wieners to the intake of the processor. The table has a top with a series of bays or sections each for supporting tubs containing strands of wieners, one of the tubs of each bay being supported on a trap door portion of the top and serving to supply the processor. The stands in the tubs are joined so that when the tub on the trap door portion of each bay has emptied, the delivery to the processor proceeds from the adjacent tub. However, the trap door portion in each bay can be operated to lower the empty tub thereon to a slide below the table that returns the empty tub to the front of the table for reuse. When the trap door is returned, it provides a support for receiving the aforesaid adjacent tub.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUL 4 m2 sum ear 2 LOADING TABLE FOR USE WITH CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION OF WIENERS This application is a division of my copending application Ser. No. 845,734 filed July 29, 1969 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,956, issued Sept. 21, 1971.

This invention relates to a loading table for use with apparatus for continuous production of wieners.

In one method of continuous production of wieners, the uncooked wieners are produced by a machine, known in the art, that stuffs the ground meat into a tubular casing and ties the casing at spaced points to produce a known length or strand of linked wieners. The strands of wieners discharged from the machine are deposited into tubs which are then placed on a table that is intermediate the machine and the intake end of the processing apparatus. The strands are continuously fed into the processing machine and for this reason the end of the strand in one tub is tied to the end of the strand in an adjacent tub. When the strand in one tub has been completely fed into the processing machine, the product in the adjacent tub immediately begins feeding into the machine. The empty tub is then removed from its position adjacent to the intake of the processor and the now loading adjacent tub is pushed into the position formerly occupied by the previously empty tub. The processing machine is preferably of a type that carries a number of strands at one time on inverted T-shaped hangers that ride on an overhead monorail. As a result, the workman has to attend to a number of bays at which tubs are supplying strands to the processor. Consequently, time allowed for handling the tubs and tying the strands together is quite limited.

It is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus of the type stated which embodies a loading table that facilitates handling of the tubs so that the filled tubs may be quickly and easily positioned for loading at each bay into the processing machine, and wherein the empty tubs are readily returned to the workman for subsequent reuse.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a table of the type stated in which the cycle of movement of the loaded and emptied tubs of each bay can be individually controlled by the workman from the front of the table.

The attainment of the above and further objects of this invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing forming a part thereof.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary top plan view, partially broken away, of a loading table constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side-elevational view, partially broken away and in section, of the table and showing the trap door portion of the table in its upper position;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but with other parts broken away and showing the trap door portion of the table in its retracted position;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and 1 FIG. 5 is a diagram of the pneumatic control system for one of the air cylinders that operates a trap door portion of the table top.

Referring now in more detail to the drawing, 1 designates a loading table that is interposed between a sausage-making machine 2 and an apparatus 3 for handling and cooking linked wieners. The apparatus 3 is known in the art. Suffice it to say that such apparatus has an intake 4 at which the linked wieners are drawn into the apparatus for delivery to inverted T-shaped hanger bars upon which the linked wieners pass through the system. The sausage maker 2 is diagrammatically indicated since machines of that type are also known in the art. These machines stuff the ground meat into tubular casings of predetermined lengths, tying each casing at spaced points to produce strands of linked wieners. The output of the sausage maker 2 is collected by the worker in containers or tubs t.

The table 1 comprises a frame having upstanding legs 6 at the four corners thereof, rear longitudinal channels 7, 8 front longitudinal channels 9, 11 and channels l2, 13 at each side of the table. The table frame supports a top 14 having a sheet metal top plate 16 that extends from the front of the table and occupies a little more than half of the table top. Adjacent to the rear edge of the top plate 16 the table top has trap door portions 17. The table top may have any number of similarly constructed side-by-side trap door portions 17 depending upon the number of bays in the table. This, in turn, will depend upon the number of intake portions 4 that are present in the processing apparatus.

Each trap door portion 17 has a series of longitudinal bars 18, 18a joined by front and rear transverse bars 19, 21, and extending upwardly from the rear bar 21 are members 22, 22 that constitute a back for the trap door portion 17. When the trap door portion 17 is level, as shown in FIG. 2, the center two bars 18a are slightly lower than the outer two bars 18. The outer two bars 18 are also somewhat longer than the center two bars 18a so as to underlie a transverse support 26 for the adjacent edge of the top plate 16.

Mounted at the upper ends of the rear legs 6 is a sheet metal shield 28 that is downwardly turned at each transverse side 29 for supporting a pivot shaft 31. Each member 22 has an ear 32 that is pivotally mounted on the shaft 31 whereby each trap door portion 17 is independently pivoted on the pivot shaft 31. Somewhat centrally of each trap door portion 17 is a depending car 33 for pivotal connection with a clevis 34 that is on the end of a piston rod 36 that is in cylinder 38. The lower end of the cylinder 38 is pivotally connected to a bracket 39 which is, in turn, secured to thetransverse beam 7. As will be apparent from FIG. 1, there is one piston and cylinder assembly connected to each trap door portion 17 so that any trap door portion can be operated independently of the operation of another trap door portion.

Below each trap door portion 17 is an inclined slide 41 that is formed by a series of spaced parallel bars that extend from the channel 8 downwardly to the channel 9 at the front of the table. As seen in FIG. 4, the center two bars 42a of each slide 41 are in a plane that is slightly offset from the outer two bars 42. Furthermore, on each slide 41 below the associated trap door portion are spaced upstanding fingers 44, 44.

Each air cylinder 38 is operated by a reversing valve 46 that is controlled by a solenoid 47 and a return spring 48. Air is supplied through a source of pressure P so that normally the piston rod 36 are extended, keeping the trap door portions 17 up as shown in FIG. 1. Current is supplied to the respective solenoids 47 from power lines L1, L2 through switches 49 that are located at the front of the table. When a switch 49 is closed, the associated solenoid valve 46 shifts to deliver air to the top side of the cylinder 38 and retracts the trap door portion 17 to the position shown in FIG. 3. Upon release of the switch 49, the return spring 48 returns the reversing valve to its normal position, again delivering air to the bottom side of the cylinder 38 to raise the trap door portion 17.

Below the front portion of the top plate 16 are upwardly opening drawers 51 that are mounted on slides 52, there being one drawer for each two bays of the table. The top plate 16 has holes 53 through which material may be deposited in the drawers 51.

In use, the linked wieners come from the machine 2 and are collected by a workman in one of the tubs t and placed on the table top plate 16. When the next tub t is filled, the workman ties the end of the casing in the second tub to an end of the casing in the first-mentioned tub, stripping the meat emulsion at the tie and depositing the emulsion through a hole 53 and into the drawer 51 therebelow. The tub that is under the shield 28 and on the trap door portion 17 is supplying wieners to the intake 4 of the processor. The shield 28 prevents the length of wieners from being fed from the back of the tub as this might cause the wieners to interfere with the hanger bars of the processor, which may be designed with the return run of the hanger bars passing closely to the rear of the table.

When the tub on a trap door portion 17 is empty, the feed will continue from the adjacent tub in that bay on the top plate 6 since the lengths of wieners in the two tubs of each bay are tied together. However, at that time the workman operates the switch 49 to retract the trap door portion 17. The tub is retained on the trap door portion as it is being lowered by reason of the abutment that is provided by the front bar 19. As the trap door approaches its fully lowered position, the fingers 44 engage the bottom of the tub and lift it over the bar 19 so that the tub can slide from the trap door portion 17 and onto the slide 41. Once on the slide 41, the tub slides downwardly to the front of the table, as shown in broken lines in FIG. 3. That empty tub t may then be removed by the workman and refilled. As soon as the tub has left the trap door portion 17, the switch 49 is released to return the trap door portion 17 to its up position. The workman then pushes the now feeding tub under the shield 28, this'usually being done through an already filled tub that is placed on the table.

The precise constructions herein shown are illustrative of the principles of the invention. What is considered new and sought to be secured by Letters Patent is:

I claim:

1. In combination with apparatus for handling and processing wieners joined together in end-to-end relationship and in which said apparatus ha intake means for receiving the wieners; a table adjacent to said intake means and having a back presented toward said intake means and a front remote from said intake means, means for supporting containers of wieners in which the wieners of one container and the wieners of an adjacent container are joined together end-to-end to form a continuous length of product and wherein the product is delivered longitudinally to said intake means from one container and when said one container is empty of product then from the other container, said supporting means having a retractable portion adjacent to said back for supporting said one container, means below said retractable portion and inclined downwardly toward saidfront, and means including a device for lowering said retractable portion to deposit said emptied one container onto said inclined means to return said one container along said inclined means to said table front, said device being operable to raise said retractable portion to its initial position to permit movement of said additional container along said support and onto said retractable portion.

2. A combination according to claim 1 in which said retractable portion is pivotally mounted on the table and swingable downwardly toward said inclined portion, said retractable portion has an abutment at the end thereof that swings downwardly to retain said one container on said retractable portion during said downward swinging, and said inclined portion has upwardly projecting means for engaging said one container to lift the same over said abutment.

3. A combination according to claim 1 in which said retractable portion is pivotally mounted on the table and said device is a power-operated member that is controlled by means at said table front. 

1. In combination with apparatus for handling and processing wieners joined together in end-to-end relationship and in which said apparatus has intake means for receiving the wieners; a table adjacent to said intake means and having a back presented toward said intake means and a front remote from said intake means, means for supporting containers of wieners in which the wieners of one container and the wieners of an adjacent container are joined together end-to-end to form a continuous length of product and wherein the product is delivered longitudinally to said intake means from one container and when said one container is empty of product then from the other container, said supporting means having a retractable portion adjacent to said back for supporting said one container, means below said retractable portion and inclined downwardly toward said front, and means including a device for lowering said retractable portion to deposit said emptied one container onto said inclined means to return said one container along said inclined means to said table front, said device being operable to raise said retractAble portion to its initial position to permit movement of said additional container along said support and onto said retractable portion.
 2. A combination according to claim 1 in which said retractable portion is pivotally mounted on the table and swingable downwardly toward said inclined portion, said retractable portion has an abutment at the end thereof that swings downwardly to retain said one container on said retractable portion during said downward swinging, and said inclined portion has upwardly projecting means for engaging said one container to lift the same over said abutment.
 3. A combination according to claim 1 in which said retractable portion is pivotally mounted on the table and said device is a power-operated member that is controlled by means at said table front. 